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Matt McKay wins Footballer of the Year

Matt McKay and Elise Kellond-Knight made it a Queensland double at the 2011 Australian Football Awards winning the Male and Female Footballer of the Year titles.

The third annual Australian Football Awards incorporating the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) and Football Media Association of Australia (FMA) awards were held in Sydney on Tuesday night.

The Awards brings together the Qantas Socceroos, Westfield Matildas and the grass roots football community, providing a unique opportunity to recognise and reward outstanding achievements at all levels of the game.

"We received a record number of nominations for this year-s award-s from all around Australia," said Football Federation Australia CEO, Ben Buckley.

“It is humbling to see the diversity of people that contribute so much of their lives to this sport that we all love.

The winners of the 2011 Australian Football Awards were announced at the gala Awards ceremony in the ballroom of the Sheraton on the Park Hotel in Sydney.

In the professional category, Qantas Socceroo Matt McKay together with Westfield Matilda and Brisbane Roar player, Elise Kellond-Knight made it a Queensland double when they secured the 2011 Male and Female
Footballer of the Year titles.

In the Under 20 Footballer of the Year for 2011, Westfield Young Matilda Caitlin Foord and Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper Matt Ryan took out the female and male categories respectively.

In the non professional category teams, volunteers, coaches and referees from around the nation were all vying for the top prize.

Teams from the ACT took out both the Senior and Youth team of the Year Awards with Canberra Street Soccer and the Under 14 girls from the Woden Valley Soccer Club.

The male coach of the year award went to Brett Wallin who coached the Illawarra Stingray-s to the NSW Women-s Premier League championship and the female coach of the year went to Victorian Jamara Maza who also recently won the Victorian Coach of the Year award.

The referee of the year went to Richard Naumovski from Canberra and the volunteer of the year award was presented to Mark Roden from the Maroochydore Football Club in Queensland.

Winners of the PFA and FMA awards were also revealed at the gala Awards ceremony.

Matt McKay made it a double when he also collected The PFA Footballer of the Year receiving 329 votes from his fellow professionals, ahead of Qantas Socceroos teammate and AZ Alkmaar attacking midfielder Brett Holman (194), Tim Cahill (185) and 2010/11 Johnny Warren Medallist, Marcos Flores (109).

The PFA Harry Kewell Medal for Australia-s best young player under the age of 23 was awarded to former Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar forward Robbie Kruse who, like Matt, established himself as a genuine international at the AFC Asian Cup 2011 in Qatar.

Kruse dominated the voting for the award with 310 votes, ahead of Qantas Young Socceroos and FC Utrecht forward Tommy Oar (165) and Kosta Barbarouses (162), the New Zealand international and former Brisbane Roar forward.

In addition, Elise Kellond-Knight also bagged both top gongs with the PFA Women-s Footballer of the Year Award who received 39 votes from her fellow Matildas. 16-year-old forward Caitlin Foord finished second with 25 votes, whilst goalkeeper Lydia Williams was third with 19.

The Football Media Association Australian International Player of the Year went to Brett Holman, as voted by the Australian football media.

2011 Australian Football Award winners
Footballer of the Year (Male) - Matt McKay (Brisbane, Queensland)
Footballer of the Year (Female) - Elise Kellond-Knight (Brisbane, Queensland)
Under 20 Footballer of the Year (Male) - Matt Ryan (Blacktown, NSW)
Under 20 Footballer of the Year (Female) - Caitlin Foord (Wollongong, NSW)
The PFA Footballer of the Year - Matt McKay (Brisbane, Queensland)
The PFA Harry Kewell Medal - Robbie Kruse (Brisbane, Queensland)
The PFA Women-s Footballer of the Year - Elise Kellond-Knight (Brisbane, Queensland)
The Football Media Association Australian International Player of the Year - Brett Holman (Bankstown, Australia)

Non-professional awards
Junior Team of The Year: Woden Valley Soccer Club Redbacks (Canberra, ACT)
Senior Team of the Year: Canberra Street Soccer (Canberra, ACT)
Male Coach of the Year - Brett Wallin (Wollongong, NSW)
Female Coach of the Year - Jamara Maza (Melbourne, Victoria)
Referee of the Year - Richard Naumovski (Canberra, ACT)
Volunteer of the Year - Mark Roden (Maroochydore Football Club, Queensland)